Travelin' Soldier
by xXxThe Phantom's RosexXx
Summary: Songfic about Derek becoming Casey's travelin' soldier. Please read and review.


A/N: So I saw a DASEY video on Youtube and had to make a fanfiction to it

**A/N: So I saw a DASEY video on Youtube and had to make a fanfiction to it. I give all credit of the idea to **deaddaveydkh **who was sweet enough to create such a beautiful video and share it with us. Anyways, here it is. I hope all of you enjoy it and please, pretty please review.**

**Song: Travelin Soldier**

**Artist: Dixie Chicks**

**Idea: deddaveydkh**

**Story: Yours Truly, Mrs. Jon Taylor Weiss**

**Two days past eighteen  
He was waiting for the bus in his army green  
Sat down in a booth at a cafe there  
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair  
He's a little shy so she gives him a smile  
And he said would you mind sittin' down for a while  
And talking to me,  
I'm feeling a little low  
She said I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go **

Derek Venturi sighed as he made his way through the front door of Amy's Café. A little bell above his head clanged as the door opened. A girl with a bow in her hair smiled at him as he sat down in the back booth.

"May I take your order?" The girl with the bow in her hair asked sweetly.

"And what do I owe the pleasure of giving my order to a pretty little thing like you? Yes, you may. I'd like a burger, fries, and a small chocolate shake."

"It'll be out in a moment…"

"Hey, I was wondering if you…if you'd like to sit with me…just for a little while. I'm feeling kind of low and really want someone to talk to," Derek's voice was hopeful as the girl's smile broadened.

"I'm off in an hour and I know a little place where we can go."

It was the longest hour of Derek's life. After she brought out his order, he could hardly eat. What had he been thinking coming into a café to calm his nerves? But then again, if he hadn't, there might be a chance he'd never have met the sweet little girl with a bow in her pretty brown curls. After finishing his meal, Derek kept sending smiles her way as she bused tables and took orders. He sent her a silent laugh as she blew a wisp of hair fell into her eyes.

"Ready to go?" She finally asked, wiping her hands off on her black apron.

"Yeah," he said, "Yeah, I am."

Derek took her by the arm as she led him outside. 

**So they went down and they sat on the pier  
He said I bet you got a boyfriend but I don't care  
I got no one to send a letter to  
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you  
**

"This place is beautiful," he said, looking out over the pier.

"I thought you'd like it. I come here to think sometimes, you know. It's like an escape from everything else, you know?"

"That's what I need right about now – an escape."

"I'm Casey by the way," the girl added quickly.

"I'm Derek – Derek Venturi."

"Well Derek – Derek Venturi – it is a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine," he smiled taking a seat on the boardwalk next to her.

"So, when do you leave?" Casey asked him, gently kicking her feet in the water.

"Tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Yeah. I leave in an hour. The bus is supposed to pick me up around eight."

"Didn't your family come to wish you off?"

"They came earlier. I told them to come early so that I could get time alone to think."

Casey didn't say anything. She didn't even look up. How could she possibly meet his eyes? Looking in the eyes of a solider always gave her an odd feeling – like looking in the eyes of death itself. For some reason, she found herself growing sad from the thought of him leaving in just an hour.

"Hey, Casey, I…I want to ask you a favor."

"Anything," Casey said truthfully, looking up to meet his gaze.

"Well, I bet you got a boyfriend and all but I don't care. You see, I don't have anyone to write back to. All the guys have girls to write back home to. It keeps them going, you know, having someone. Would you mind too much if I sent one back here to you?"

"I don't think I'd mind too much."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Damn," Derek cursed under his breath.

"What?" Casey asked, fearful he'd been angered with her.

"It's almost eight. I…I need to be heading back," he said, standing.

"I…I know we've just met, Derek, but I don't want you to go," Casey stood and began to follow him off the boardwalk not wanting the moment to ever die.

Derek didn't say anything, instead he responded by grabbing her, tipping her over, and giving her the most passionate kiss she'd ever been given (sure, it was the only kiss she'd ever been given but that didn't matter to Casey.)

"To keep me going," he smirked as he headed off towards the bus stop.

**I cry  
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy  
Too young for him they told her  
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier  
Our love will never end  
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again  
Never more to be alone when the letter said  
A soldier's coming home  
**

That night, Casey lay on her bed with tears streaming down both cheeks. _I will never, ever hold the hand of another guy, _Casey vowed to herself, touching her hand she'd held his with.

"Casey, what's the matter?" Her mother asked as she entered her bedroom, "Not cryin' over that soldier you told me you met, are you?"

"Mama…"

"Honey, soldiers come and go. I don't want you to get too attached to him. It was one night, Casey, one night. One night doesn't mean anything."

But she was wrong. To Casey, one night meant everything.

"I love him, Mama."

"You can't fall in love after an hour of talkin' to someone."

"I did."

"Casey, you are young and naïve…"

"I may be young; I may be naïve but one thing I know for certain, Mama, is that I am in love with Derek Venturi."

"You'll never here from that boy, Casey. I don't want you to be disappointed…"

"I won't. He will send me a letter. He told me so."

"Casey…"

"Mama, I love him."

"He's eighteen!"

"I'm sixteen!"

"You are far too young for him, much less for love!"

After her mother left, Casey fell back against her pillow and cried. Derek Venturi would write. He'd promised her so. Sure, her mother meant well, but she was wrong about Derek and Casey. What Casey had said was true. They had fallen in love in just a night.

**So the letters came from an army camp  
In California then Vietnam  
And he told her of his heart  
It might be love and all of the things he was so scared of  
He said when it's getting kinda rough over here  
I think of that day sittin' down at the pier  
And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile  
Don't worry but I won't be able to write for awhile  
**

The first letter arrived two days after they had said goodbye. Casey was filled with excitement as she tore into the envelope with her name scribbled across it. Tears filled her eyes as she began to read:

_My Dearest Casey,_

_I miss you so much more than anyone – even you – could understand. You were there for me when no one else was and I will forever appreciate you for that. I truly believe that you and I were put in that café together for a reason. I could hardly wait to write to you but did not get a chance to until I was completely settled in here at camp._

_Things are difficult, Casey. I am not going to lie to you. As I arrived, I saw the boys still running through courses and I couldn't help but wonder if I am making I horrible mistake. But then I thought, I am doing the right thing. I am going off to fight for my country – for you, my beautiful little girl with the bow in your hair._

_My heart is heavy as I write to you because I know it will be awhile until I see you again. Do not worry though, Casey. I will come home to you. I will come home to you and we will go to the pier again. I promise. I will come home to you. _

_They just yelled lights-out so I guess that means goodbye for now. For now. Not forever, Casey. We will meet up again someday. We'll meet by the pier and share another kiss by moonlight. _

_Love always,_

_Your Travelin' Solider. _

The second she'd finished reading it, Casey grabbed a pen and a piece of stationary.

_My Dearest Travelin' Solider,_

_My heart skipped with delight when your letter arrived. I literally just got done reading it and knew I had to write you in return. _

_I know things might be hard there and I know you might question what you are doing but I want you to know, I am thinking about you. Not a second has gone by since you've left where you haven't been on my mind. I wish you all the best. You are constantly in my thoughts and in my prayers._

_Love always,_

_Your little girl with the bow in her hair._

Casey and Derek wrote each other a letter a day. In a few weeks, his address changed from California to Vietnam. Every day they wrote each other and every day they each received a letter. Until one day…

Casey had been overjoyed as usual as her mother brought in the mail and told her that she had a letter from Derek. Her mother had sighed and handed it over to her daughter who skipped with glee as she made her way up to her bedroom to read it. After tearing into the envelope, she began to read. Her eyes filled with stinging tears as she read his words:

_My Dearest Love _(he'd taken to calling her that in his letters.)

_Not a day goes by when you aren't on my mind. I miss you so much, Casey. Things do get bad here. I am not going to go into details because I do not wish to frighten you but things do get bad. When things aren't lookin' too swell, I close my eyes and think of that night on the pier and I see your beautiful face smiling up at me._

_Casey, I don't want you to worry about me but I will be unable to write to you for quite sometime. Please don't think I've stopped thinking about you. I will always think about you, Casey and I will always love you. You are my angel that gets me through this hard time. Thank you for being there for me. I will write when I can. _

_Oh, about that promise I made you of coming home? I'm still planning on keeping it. Here's what I think. I think the first thing I'm going to do when I come home is meet you at the pier with butterflies in my stomach and a diamond ring in my pocket. I mean it, darling. You've stolen my heart and I don't think I can ever get it back. _

_I have to go but I promise I'll write again. Don't worry, darling, I will be home soon and we can spend the rest of forever together. _

_Love always,_

_Derek Venturi. _

And that was the last letter Casey ever received.

**One Friday night at a football game  
The lord's prayer said and the anthem sang  
A man said folks would you bow your heads  
For a list of local Vietnam dead  
Crying all alone under the stands  
Was a piccolo player in the marching band  
And one name read and nobody really cared  
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair **

Casey hated sporting events – especially football. She didn't see the point of it except to watch boys tackle each other over a piece of rubber with air in it. She especially hated being forced to attend. Being a piccolo player in the band, she was required to attend every game the Bulldogs played.

It was exactly two weeks since she had gotten her last letter from Derek and she was extremely worried, despite what he'd said about her not worrying. He had said it would be awhile before he could write again. Awhile was a week, not two. Or at least in Casey's mind. Her thoughts kept wandering to the horrors that might be taking place in Vietnam. The horrors her Derek had to face daily.

As she was adjusting the sheet music on her stand, the principal, Mr. Waller, stood in the center of the field. Clearing his throat, he bowed his head.

"Folks, would you please bow your head for a reading of the recent list of local Vietnam deaths."

Casey's breath fled and she bit her lip, silently praying that the name on the list wasn't his.

"Sam Jacobs, Sheldon Shleper, Ralph Rittingon, Max Samueles, George Adams, and Derek Venturi."

The stadium turned into a blur as Casey left her post with the other piccolo players. She ran off the field and underneath the stands. As she sat in the shadows alone and invisible, she began to cry. Derek Venturi. It had to be a mistake. Derek couldn't have been dead, he just couldn't have been. He was going to come home soon. He'd come home and propose and they'd get married and spend the rest of forever together. He just couldn't be dead. He just couldn't be. 

**I cried **

**Never gonna hold the hand of another guy **

**Too young for him they told her **

**Waitin' for the love of a travelin' solider **

**Our love will never end **

**waitin' for the soldier to come back again **

**Never more to be alone when the letter said **

**A soldier's coming**

Elizabeth Saunders held her mother's hand tightly as tears flooded her eyes.

"Mama…"

"Shh, darling, it's okay."

"Mama…"

"It's my time, love. Everyone has to die. Death is as natural as birth and it has to happen to everyone. Including your mother."

"But…but I'm not ready for you to die."

"Honey, you have a husband and children of your own now. You don't need me."

"I'll always need you," Elizabeth said, the tears staining her cheeks.

"Honey, I want to die. It's my time."

"Mama…"

"Lizzie, I love you."

"No, Mama, no!" Lizzie cried as her mother closed her eyes and took her last breath.

"_Derek?"_

"_I told you I'd come back to you. I told you we would spend the rest of forever together."_

"_It's been years."_

"_Seventy-five years, two months, and five days since that day at the pier. I…I didn't think you'd remember."_

"_I could never forget the one man I ever truly loved."_

"_Are you ready to go home?"_

"_Yes," Casey nodded, "Yes I am."_

She held his hand as they faded away to spend the rest of forever together.

Her soldier had come home.

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**A/N: So what did you think? Did you like it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know. Just click that little button down there and leave a review. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading.

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